Atomic Fusion: Particle Collider Is An Entertaining Combination Of Several Elements [Review]

Science is cool, and Atomic Fusion: Particle Collider wants you to know that.

It’s a tough game to describe. It’s kind of like a shooter, but you don’t shoot anything. It reminds me a bit of Tilt to Live except that nothing is really trying to kill you. You’re basically just flying around collecting stuff. So maybe it’s also a little like Katamari Damacy but not nearly so goofy.

Whatever it is, though, it’s fun.

Atomic Fusion‘s premise is that you are an atom floating around and trying to fuse yourself into progressively heavier elements. You do this by collecting atomic energy from color-coded energy ribbons, making sure that the color of your atom matches. This isn’t really how atomic fusion works, obviously, but it makes for an entertaining time floating around and switching back and forth to be sure the ribbons don’t cost you energy.

You can also pick up free-floating electrons to store up energy for an emergency blast if you find yourself in a jam. It works like the bomb in shoot-em-ups like Geometry Wars and Resogun, and that’s also not scientifically accurate — an atom that grabbed that many electrons would become a ridiculously unstable ion — but it’s a conceit for gaming purposes, and you understand why it’s there.

You have things to collect and dodge, you know. Your hand needs to stay on the wheel.

I’m not pointing out the scientific inaccuracies to be picky, and they don’t take away from the game. But I have a field down there that says “The Bad,” and sometimes I have trouble coming up with things to put there. Atomic Fusion is a blast to play. The controls are simple: drag to move and multi-touch to switch between matter and anti-matter (also not how that works. Gosh). It has three control settings, but they all basically come down to this because regardless of whether my left or right thumb is in charge of reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, the other (movement) thumb isn’t coming off the screen. You have things to collect and dodge, you know. Your hand needs to stay on the wheel.

The game is free up to level 10 (which is Neon, if you were curious), and it costs $1.99 to keep playing beyond that. But if you’re really good and complete the entire periodic table, you can move on to “discover” brand-new elements which you get to name for everyone. And I’m pretty sure we’re going to see some elements named after various parts of the human anatomy that we typically hide away, but you know what? Science is risky.

Game Name: : Atomic Fusion: Particle Collider The Good: Simple, fun gameplay with infinite levels and excellent music. The Bad: It’s not scientifically accurate. Way to sacrifice authenticity for the sake of endless entertainment, developers. Geez. The Verdict: It’s entertaining and fun to look at, and you might actually learn something. Check it out. Buy from: App Store

[rating=game5]